Editing Customer (section)

==Etymology and terminology==
Early societies relied on a [[gift economy]] based on favours. Later, as [[commerce]] developed, less permanent human relations were formed, depending more on transitory [[need]]s rather than enduring social [[desire]]s. Customers are generally said to be the purchasers of goods and services, while clients are those who receive personalized advice and solutions.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-customer-vs-client-56387.html|title=What Is the Difference Between a Customer Vs. a Client?|website=Chron|access-date=7 March 2019}}</ref> Although such distinctions have no contemporary semantic weight, [[Employment agency|agencies]] such as [[law firm]]s, [[film studio]]s, and [[health care provider]]s tend to prefer ''[[:wikt:client|client]]'', while [[grocery store]]s, [[bank]]s, and [[restaurant]]s tend to prefer ''[[:wikt:customer|customer]]'' instead.

===Client===
[[File:Attorney and Client, Fortitude and Impatience.jpg|thumb|A drawing of an attorney with a client]]
The term client is derived from Latin ''clients'' or ''care'' meaning "to incline" or "to bend", and is related to the emotive idea of [[closure (psychology)|closure]]. It is widely believed that people only change their habits when motivated by [[greed and fear]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-pathways-experience/201708/greed-and-fear|title=Greed and Fear|website=Psychology Today|access-date=9 May 2018}}</ref> Winning a client is therefore a singular event, which is why professional specialists who deal with particular problems tend to attract long-term clients rather than regular customers.<ref name="auto"/> Unlike regular customers, who buy merely on price and value, long-term clients buy on experience and trust.<ref name="auto"/>

===Customer===
Clients who habitually return to a seller develop [[custom (law)|custom]]s that allow for regular, sustained commerce that allows the seller to develop statistical models to optimize [[production (economics)|production]] processes (which change the nature or form of goods or services) and [[supply chain]]s (which change the location or formalize the changes of ownership or entitlement transactions). 

An "end customer" denotes the person at the end of a supply chain who ultimately purchases or utilised the goods or services.<ref>Harrison, A. and Godsell, J. (2003), [https://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1826/377/SWP0103.pdf Responsive Supply Chains: An Exploratory Study of Performance Management], Cranfield School of Management, accessed 4 March 2023</ref> [[ISO 9000 family|ISO principles for quality management]] note the importance of recognising both direct and indirect customers.<ref>[[ISO]] (2015), [https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/store/en/PUB100080.pdf Quality management principles], p. 2, accessed on 15 May 2025</ref>

===Employer===
A client paying for construction work is often referred to as an "employer".<ref>Evolution 5, [https://evolution5.co.uk/what-is-an-employers-agent/ What is an Employer’s Agent in construction?], published 17 May 2021, accessed 25 April 2023</ref><ref>Blackstone Solicitors Ltd., [https://blackstonesolicitorsltd.co.uk/category/construction/jct-contracts-explained-blackstone-solicitors/ JCT Contracts Explained], published 6 September 2021, accessed 25 April 2023</ref>